It's great to see Dennis back in form again. I remember a quote from Earl saying something to the effect that it's inhuman to shoot as straight as Dennis when he was an up and comer. I remember hearing alot about Dennis and Mike Coltrain. Anyone know why Mike doesn't play anymore?
Dennis Hatch
- Thread starter cuetechasaurus
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cuetechasaurus said:
I'm not sure about the details but I beleive Mike cut back on playing because of medical reasons.
North Carolinian Michael Coltrain has taken a hiatus from competing professionally because of a medical condition which makes his shooting arm tremor. He was playing pool competitively as a young boy, having seen his picture in Snap magazine winning various events, and grew up in the era of Shannon Daulton, Max Eberle, and Charlie Williams when they were young up-and-comers.
Today, I still see Coltrain on the tournament trail at various events, and because of his knowledge of the game and its players, he's one of the BEST pool handicappers in the business. Whoever Mike likes, I like.
Michael Coltrain is a true gentleman player. I especially enjoy listening to him when he talks because of that Southern drawl. Here's a picture of Michael Coltrain and Alex Pagulayan taken a few years ago at the Carolines Open in Goldsboro, NC.
JAM
Today, I still see Coltrain on the tournament trail at various events, and because of his knowledge of the game and its players, he's one of the BEST pool handicappers in the business. Whoever Mike likes, I like.
Michael Coltrain is a true gentleman player. I especially enjoy listening to him when he talks because of that Southern drawl. Here's a picture of Michael Coltrain and Alex Pagulayan taken a few years ago at the Carolines Open in Goldsboro, NC.
JAM
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cuetechasaurus said:
As a youngster, Dennis Hatch traveled cross-country with his dad when the action was prevalent, though he did compete in youth tournaments on occasion, winning quite a few of them. He also grew up in the same era as Michael Coltrain, and his picture is plastered all over various pool mags. I believe Dennis Hatch is 35 years old today.
I've collected quite a few good road stories involving Dennis Hatch and Keith McCready, depicted below, who have remained good friends over the years.
Dennis is the favorite to win any event he enters, and NOBODY likes to pull his name in the draw. He has overcome some major obstacles in life and now is devoting himself to follow the professional tournament trail. This major win at the SBE Pro 8-Ball event was a biggie, and I wouldn't be surprised one bit to see him win many more down the road.
JAM
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First time I saw Dennis Hatch was at a major tournament in Memphis in the late 80's or early 90's. He was mostly unknown (as was Archer who was there, looking about 13 years old), but the buzz around the room was "be careful of this Hatch kid". I think he won the tournament, over Hall, Sigel, Varner, etc., but I'm still in a coma from sitting next to Ewa for 10 minutes; what a glorious goddess she is...no mere man deserves her.
Had the pleasurable experience of hanging out with M Coltraine's backer for awhile, just after they vacuumed the country. Can't remember the guy's name, but he said he owned a couple of rooms in the Carolinas and had a fantastic car collection. Anyway, he said that the only place he would not go back to is Ohio; he said there is a champion barbox player at every joint, and, if you beat their guy , they just call someone better until you're broke. He said if any player could ever "beat Ohio", the next 6 generations of their family would'nt have to work. This was confirmed last night by my buddy, who's from a small town in Ohio - he told me Jimmy "Flyboy" Spears was the THIRD best player in this town when he was in his prime. My buddy does a lot of staking and traveling in Florida, hung out at the Rack in Detroit in its heyday, etc., he states emphatically that Ohio has the best players per capita this side of the R of Philippines. Since he backed Jack Hynes for a long time and lived to tell about it, I gotta take him at his word.
Had the pleasurable experience of hanging out with M Coltraine's backer for awhile, just after they vacuumed the country. Can't remember the guy's name, but he said he owned a couple of rooms in the Carolinas and had a fantastic car collection. Anyway, he said that the only place he would not go back to is Ohio; he said there is a champion barbox player at every joint, and, if you beat their guy , they just call someone better until you're broke. He said if any player could ever "beat Ohio", the next 6 generations of their family would'nt have to work. This was confirmed last night by my buddy, who's from a small town in Ohio - he told me Jimmy "Flyboy" Spears was the THIRD best player in this town when he was in his prime. My buddy does a lot of staking and traveling in Florida, hung out at the Rack in Detroit in its heyday, etc., he states emphatically that Ohio has the best players per capita this side of the R of Philippines. Since he backed Jack Hynes for a long time and lived to tell about it, I gotta take him at his word.
T
Timberly
Guest
The first time I saw Hatch was at my 2nd pro tourney about 15 or 16 yrs ago. It was also the 1st time I saw Tony Watson. Hatch drilled Tony. It was weither 11-1 or 11-0. Tony was still a kid and just starting to come into the great game that he ended up with before ruining it. 
Hatch was feared on the table by many. This was back when once the tourney play was over for the night, all the players headed to the nearest pool room to gamble.
The friend that I was with was friends with Tony so we hung out with him & I didn't really see Hatch in action but I do remember hearing his name floating around the action room a lot.
Hatch was feared on the table by many. This was back when once the tourney play was over for the night, all the players headed to the nearest pool room to gamble. The friend that I was with was friends with Tony so we hung out with him & I didn't really see Hatch in action but I do remember hearing his name floating around the action room a lot.
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jnav447 said:
I also backed Jack Hynes for about a year. Jack Hynes may be one of the straightest shooting undercover players of the last 20 years. I have seen him give high quality players the 7ball numerous times. I have backed Antonio Lining, Dennis Hatch, Rob Saez, Tony Watson, Tony Ellin, Rudulpho Luat, Jerry Slivka, Cisco Diaz (great player), Rodney Morris (pre-US open days, and a slew of others and no one was as fun to watch as Re-Rack Jack Hynes. He plays shape 3 rails to every ball and busts pockets when he plays. I really believe Ohio has a slew of players that play really well. I can think of about 25 who two years ago I would have picked as a favorite over Jason Miller from Dayton.
JAM said:As a youngster, Dennis Hatch traveled cross-country with his dad when the action was prevalent, though he did compete in youth tournaments on occasion, winning quite a few of them. He also grew up in the same era as Michael Coltrain, and his picture is plastered all over various pool mags. I believe Dennis Hatch is 35 years old today.
I've collected quite a few good road stories involving Dennis Hatch and Keith McCready, depicted below, who have remained good friends over the years.
Dennis is the favorite to win any event he enters, and NOBODY likes to pull his name in the draw. He has overcome some major obstacles in life and now is devoting himself to follow the professional tournament trail. This major win at the SBE Pro 8-Ball event was a biggie, and I wouldn't be surprised one bit to see him win many more down the road.
JAM
Yes he has overcome some obsticles and now he seems focused on what he does so well. He seems to have a bright new outlook and boy so does his game. Pool has been a tough sport to earn a living at and it now seems to be changing for the better. This change should give some of the greats an opportunity to realize what has been long deserved.